the child
by isyourcermetgoingtogrow
Summary: Garrett gets turned into a little kid... and his coven have to find a way to change him back. Fluff ensured, I guess... M cause i'm paranoid but there isn't really a reason for it aside from that...
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this a while ago and thought I'd better do something with it, even if no one reads it so it is off my desktop...  
>but if you do happen to find yourself here I'd love a review...I know it's kind of weird...<br>**

Eleazar came in from hunting with a look of utter confusion on his face. In his arms he held a small petrified child who obviously did not want to be held.  
>"What's going on?" Tanya asked cautiously, eyeing the kid. The look on her face told us she wasn't happy, especially after what happened with Sasha.<br>"Eleazar…" Carmen warned, glancing at her.  
>"You need to get rid of that right now," my sister told him sternly. "You <em>know<em> what the Volturi will do if you don't dispose of it immediately."  
>"No-" He started, almost pleading.<br>"Honey you have no choice," Carmen told him soothingly.  
>"But-"<br>"Look, I won't make you do it if you really can't but I'm still going to have to deal with him, okay?" Tanya asked gently. Suddenly she started. "Wait, where's Garrett? Did he…" She watched the toddler.  
>"No, he didn't-"<br>"Give him here," she coaxed, slowly taking the little boy from him. He didn't dare fight our coven leader.  
>The kid started to cry, his body shaking with sobs.<br>"It's okay, little one," she told him, hugging him and rubbing his back. "It will be over soon."  
>I could see this was going to be hard for her.<br>The tears came faster as if he knew what was going to happen.  
>"Shh, you won't feel anything, I promise." Her voice was thick as if she was holding back her own tears.<br>"You can't hurt him!" Eleazar cried desperately.  
>"I don't want to, Eleazar, but the Volturi-" she choked on a small sob.<br>We all froze, even the child. It was the first time any of us had ever seen her cry; your coven leader crying was just something that didn't happen. Ever.  
>"He's not immortal! Listen," he begged.<br>Faintly I could hear a small heartbeat.  
>"Please. You don't understand, I- he's-" He stole him from Tanya without as much as a fight and handed him to me.<br>His little body went ridged as soon as I touched him. He was so familiar; it was bizarre.  
>Then his eyes met mine. They were a deep chocolate brown faintly mixed with amber. Although I had never met him as a human, I knew him immediately.<br>"Garrett," I gasped, shocked. He nodded shyly. I hugged him closer to me. "Eleazar…what..?" I stared at him for some explanation.  
>"When we were out today a strange vampire injected him with something…and then this happened a few minutes later…" He bit his lip.<br>"I'm sowwy," Garrett told me then looked shocked, covering his mouth and going a brilliant red.  
>I couldn't help but giggle. Tanya and Carmen did too.<br>"Do you think it'll just wear off?" Tanya asked after collecting herself enough not to laugh.  
>"Maybe…they didn't really say anything about what would happen," Eleazar replied. "They just ran off."<br>"What are we going to do about you then?" Carmen asked, cooing over him.  
>He shrugged and held onto me tightly.<br>"Oh my god you are so cute!" I chuckled, hugging him and kissing the side of his face. I felt his cheeks heat up again.  
>"It's a bit of a long shot, but we could call Carlisle?" Eleazar suggested.<br>Garrett shook his head. "Cant. He's owt wiv Awistair today…"  
>We all tried not to laugh again but we all failed.<br>"Your speech is getting worse, my friend," Eleazar chuckled. "You were not talking like this on the way back.  
>"We could call him anyway," Tanya continued. She smiled kindly at Garrett. "I'm sure Alistair would get a kick out of this."<br>"No!" he whined. "No Awistair."  
>"No Awistair it is then," she giggled. "But I do think we should at least tell Carlisle."<br>He nodded slowly, biting on the end of his now way too long sleeve.  
>"First I think we'd better get you some clothes that fit," I told him. He lent his head on my shoulder, snuggling closer to me.<br>"I have a better plan," Tanya said to me. "How about you go and get the clothes, and I will put this one to bed."  
>"I think that might be best," I admitted, unable to keep from smiling as she took Garrett off me and he immediately clung to her.<br>As I got in the car, Carmen jumped in beside me. I looked at her for an explanation.  
>"I've always wanted to shop for a child," she told me sadly.<br>"Me too," I smiled as I pulled out of the driveway.


	2. Chapter 2

He watched me nervously as I pulled a set of clothes out of the bag.  
>"Do you want me to dress you or do you want to do it yourself?" I asked, sitting next to him on the bed.<br>He watched his feet swinging over the edge. "…Don't think I can," he mumbled, blushing again. I could tell he was making a conscious effort to keep his speech normal.  
>"That's okay, honey, I can help you." I put him on my lap and helped him into the clothing. He still seemed to struggle and had a hard time getting them on properly. By the end, he was bright red and almost in tears out of frustration. "Come here, Garrett. It's okay." I hugged him carefully, rubbing his back when his emotions got the better of him and he started to cry.<br>Eleazar knocked awkwardly on the door and we both looked up. "Um, Tanya spoke to Carlisle and he said he would come and see us…"  
>"Thank god for Carlisle," I murmured.<br>"You've got that right," he muttered, walking away again.  
>Garrett sniffed and wiped his face on the back on his hand.<br>I picked him up and stood.  
>"Where we gowing?" he asked shyly.<br>"Downstairs with the others," I told him, giving him a light squeeze. He tensed but didn't object.

"Can you stand, Garrett?" Tanya asked as she sat down across from me. He was on the floor, having wriggled off me knee.  
>"I don't know," he shrugged.<br>"Do you want to try?" she encouraged.  
>"'kay," he mumbled. He crawled forward a few feet and tried to pull himself up on the coffee table, failing miserably. "Can't," he whimpered, rubbing his arm where he had knocked it as he fell.<br>"That's okay, we can work on that. At least you can talk," she smiled. "Is your arm okay?"  
>He nodded and refused to make eye contact.<br>We watched the TV for a few minutes until he suddenly started to cry again, becoming almost hysterical.  
>"What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?" I asked.<br>He frantically shook his head and pressed both hands over his mouth.  
>"I think he's going to puke," Eleazar told me quickly.<br>I hurriedly scooped him up and rushed him to the sink, pulling his hair out of the way just in time. Worry prickled my skin. I rubbed circles into his back while he coughed and spluttered. I could feel him trembling, afraid. I forced back my own tears. "It's okay, you're going to be okay, Garrett." I kissed the top of his head.  
>In the other room I could hear Tanya talking to Carlisle again. She came and stood in the doorway, giving me a reassuring smile.<br>"Carlisle says-" she started but on the other end of the phone he interrupted her.  
>"Is that like Simon says?" Carlisle asked, laughing.<br>Garrett giggled as well, immediately comforted by his friend.  
>"You be quiet," she quipped. "He thinks that because he's human it's just his body getting rid of all the blood because he'll need human food now. Also, we need to feed him."<br>"I'm not hungwy," Garrett moaned, hugging his stomach.  
>"I know you feel sick, but you have to eat before you go to bed, alright?" I told him, picking him up again and holding him close to me.<br>He nodded and hid his face in my shoulder.  
>Tanya took the phone away again and left us alone.<br>"I love you, Garrett."  
>"…love you too," he mumbled.<br>"Could you try and eat something for me?"  
>"Okay." He didn't look happy about it. I put him down on the bench and sourced some of the food we had gotten while we were out.<br>"Here, try this, sweetie. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it and if you feel like you need to be sick, tell me, okay?" I pushed his hair out of his face again but it wouldn't stay put.  
>He took a hesitant bite out of it before smiling happily at me and quickly eating the rest of it.<br>"Do you want a drink as well?" I chuckled.  
>"Yes pwease," he answered, pulling a face when he remembered he couldn't talk properly.<br>I filled a glass and handed it to him. That disappeared within second as well.  
>"Katie…?" he asked shyly after a moment. He was squirming, unable to keep still, crossing and uncrossing his legs.<br>"Yes?" I smile.  
>He blushed bright red again. "I need to go to the bathwoom," he squeaked. "Really bad." He went an even deeper shade of crimson and pressed his legs together, looking like he wanted to cry.<br>"Oh, okay," I stood there dumbly for another minute, almost in shock, until he whimpered desperately. "Come on then."


	3. Chapter 3

It was almost midnight when I put Garrett in bed although he had been asleep for hours. He had fallen asleep on my lap and was too cute to move in case I woke him. I lay next to him for another hour or so until I was sure he would not wake up for a while.

"Kate!" Carmen called, her voice floating down the staircase. I rushed up to find her sitting on our bed with her arms around Garrett. His face was red and hot, wet with tears and he was crying uncontrollably. "We had a nightmare," she explained apologetically, getting up as I lifted him onto my knee.  
>"Shh, it's okay sweetie," I told him, rubbing his back. He clung to me, shaking and crying. "It's okay, it was just a dream."<br>"I'm sowwy," he choked out between sobs.  
>"It's alright, it's not your fault." I kissed his cheek. "Try and take a deep breath, honey, you're hyperventilating; it will make you feel dizzy and sick."<br>"Hey," Carlisle greeted me, coming in the door.  
>I jumped. "Where did you come from?"<br>He laughed and gave me a kind smile, crouching beside him.  
>Garrett sniffed and reached toward him.<br>"You want me to pick you up?" he asked cautiously.  
>He pulled his hands back and folded the in his lap, going red again.<br>"It's okay, I was just making sure," Carlisle told him, lifting him off me. "I wouldn't want anyone picking me up, that's all."  
>He stifled a small sob. "Can you change me back…?" he sniffed.<br>He shrugged. "I don't know yet, Garrett. Maybe…Or Aro-"  
>"No!" he cried, terrified.<br>"Shh, you're okay, he wouldn't hurt you, but he might know how to fix this."  
>"I know…" he mumbled.<br>"Then why are you crying?" he chuckled, wiping his face dry.  
>"Because…because…I don't know!" he sobbed. "I can't make it stop!"<br>"I think maybe he has the mind of a child as well, or at least the emotions of one," Carmen told him, low enough so that Garrett couldn't hear it.  
>"That would make sense," he murmured, hugging his little friend. "We'll get you back, don't worry."<br>"I don't wanna be a kid again," he whimpered.  
>"I don't blame you, but you're stuck for now." He smiled again and Garrett sort of smiled back.<br>"You need to be in bed, mister," I told him.  
>"I don't want to," he complained, proving that he really was a child.<br>"You have to go to sleep," I argued.  
>He sniffed. "No…"<br>"I think yes."  
>He started to cry for what seemed like the millionth time today. Carlisle shut it down before he got too far.<br>"I'm sure Kate will stay with you if you are worried about getting scared again," he assured him.  
>I nodded and smoothed down the blankets on the bed.<br>Garrett hesitated, trying to phrase something he wasn't quite sure how to. "Will you stay wiv me?" he asked shyly, glancing up at Carlisle and then looking away, shifting uncomfortably. "Pwease…?" He was immediately red when the words didn't come out properly.  
>Carlisle chuckled. "I will if you want me to." He rubbed his back and put him back on the bed, sitting next to him. Garrett shuffled closer, trying to get back on his knee. "Come here then," he laughed, grabbing the blanket off the bed and wrapping it around him. "But you have to go to sleep now, okay?" He put him on his lap and he cuddled into him.<br>I giggled and reached for my phone.  
>"No Awistair," he mumbled.<br>When I took the photo they both looked unamused. "I'm sending it to Esme though," I teased.  
>"Great," Carlisle replied sarcastically.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

A week later nothing had changed apart from Carlisle going home frustrated and Garrett settling down a bit. The most frustrating bit was that he showed no signs of turning back and only continued to grow at the speed of a normal human child, except from his speech which was remarkably better; most likely from spending time around his friend. We had decided he was about three, although we couldn't be sure. He didn't cry so often now, but he broke down when he couldn't find a way to explain something. He was mostly okay as long as we kept everything to some sort of schedule so he knew what would happen and when. Eating wasn't a problem and neither was bed time; he was mostly well behaved. The hardest part was keeping him amused as none of us had ever had much contact with children.  
>The first sign something was wrong was when he didn't wake up at the same time as usual.<br>"Garrett," I nudged him. "Wake up, sweetie."  
>He begrudgingly opened his eyes, only to drift off again seconds later.<br>I giggled. "Come on, you have to get up and have something to eat." I knew what the resulting drama would be if the day did not go as uniformly as every other one did. It seemed to make him unreasonably upset.  
>"…tired Katie," he mumbled sleepily.<br>"You'll wake up properly once you get up, but you need to eat now," I encouraged.  
>"…hmm…" He slipped back into sleep again.<br>"Up you get, come on, let's go." I picked him up this time and untangled him from the blankets. "Breakfast time."  
>"No…" he whined quietly, clinging to me.<br>I ignored him and took him downstairs and into the kitchen, putting him at the table like I did every morning since this started. I put his food in front of him and turned to talk to Carmen.  
>After a few minutes she giggled. "Aww, he's so cute," she chuckled, looking over my shoulder.<br>I turned around only to find that he had gone back to sleep and had not touched his breakfast. I couldn't help but smile as I went to take him back to bed.

It was hours before he even stirred again. When he eventually did wake up, all he did was climb onto my lap and start to go to sleep again.  
>I frowned. "Did you not sleep very well last night, honey?" I pushed his hair out of his face and he lent into my hand, making me smile. "You should have told me you were struggling, love," I scolded lightly.<br>"…didn't wake up though…" he mumbled tiredly.  
>"Have we been putting you to bed too late then?" I asked, trying to find the reason for his exhaustion.<br>"…don't know…"  
>I hugged him tightly and let him sleep.<p>

"Katie…" Garrett whimpered softly from the bottom of the stairs.  
>I hadn't even realised he was there; I thought he was still asleep.<br>"What's the matter, love?" I asked, turning away from the others to face him over the back of the seat.  
>He looked at his feet, sucking on the end of his sleeve.<br>"Guess who's out of bed?" Eleazar laughed, coming up behind him and picking him up, throwing him over his shoulder. Usually this provoked hysterical giggles on Garrett's behalf, but today he just held onto him. "What's up with you today, huh?" he rearranged him so he was more comfortable.  
>He whimpered again, cuddling into him.<br>"You two look very sweet like that," Carmen told them, smiling.  
>"He might be sweet, but I don't know about me," Eleazar chuckled but his smile turned into a frown. "Kate, he's kind of warm." He pushed his hair off his face. "Are you not feeling well, my little friend?"<br>Garrett mumbled something I couldn't hear.  
>Eleazar put him on my knee.<br>"Are you hungry? You haven't eaten today," I asked him, trying to get him to sit up but he didn't seem to want to.  
>He shook his head, leaning on my shoulder.<br>"He has a temperature," Eleazar repeated.  
>I put my hand against his forehead. It was hotter than usual, but didn't seem to be too bad.<br>"What's happening, Garrett? What's the matter?" I asked him.  
>He didn't respond.<br>"Come, I think we'd better get you something to eat, or at least get you to drink."

"Here you go, honey," I handed him a cup. He had refused to touch his food, but took a cautious sip of drink. "Good boy. Are you still tired?"  
>He nodded and almost dropped the cup.<br>I sighed. "What do you want to do now?" I assumed he would have a fit if I tried to make him go back to bed.  
>"…can I go back to sleep?" he asked like I might growl at him for wanting that.<br>"Of course you can," I chuckled.  
>He gave me a shaky smile and pushed the cup away.<br>I scooped him up off the table and carried him back to our room. After I tucked him up in the blankets I turned to leave.  
>"Kate…?" he ask shyly.<br>"Yes?"  
>"Can you stay with me…?"<br>I smiled as he fidgeted, waiting for me to reply. "Of course I can."  
>He relaxed immediately.<br>I noticed he was flushed and slightly pale. I lay beside him and he cuddled into me, letting me play with pieces of his hair.


	5. Chapter 5

Garrett stirred suddenly.  
>I glanced it the clock. It was only 3am so I hoped he wouldn't be wanting to get up now.<br>His body jerked unexpectedly and a few seconds later he was violently sick.  
>"Garrett sit up," I begged him urgently; pulling him so he was leaning upright against me. "I don't want you choking."<br>As he threw up again he started to cry, struggling to breath at the same time.  
>"It's okay, love," I rubbed his back.<br>He coughed and was sick again.  
>A sinking feeling formed in my stomach.<br>He hugged himself, trying to keep as still as possible. "Make- it stop-" he pleaded between gasps.  
>My heart broke. "I'm sorry, sweetie, I don't know how."<br>The next time he threw up he cried out, whimpered and bursting into a whole new round of tears.  
>"God, I'm so sorry, honey." I wanted to cry as well; it was awful seeing your mate so upset and not being able to make it any better.<br>He squirmed uncomfortably and covered his mouth, gasping for breath.  
>As quickly as I could, I took him into the kitchen, praying he wouldn't get sick on the way. I sat him on the bench by the sink, gently hugging him while he sobbed. "It's okay, baby." I pushed his hair out of the way and kissed the top of his head. "Do you still feel sick?"<br>He sniffed and nodded.  
>"My poor sweetie." I put my hand on his forehead only to find he was scarily warm. "Jesus, Garrett."<br>"Hey you, what are we doing out of bed mister?" Tanya laughed, not really looking at us as she came in and disappeared inside the pantry.  
>"He's sick," I managed to choke out. "Like really, really sick."<br>"Aww, that's no good," she kept her tone light as she came over to us but I could see the worry etched on her face.  
>Garrett looked down at his lap.<br>She touched the side of his face and he squirmed again. I could see him trying to resist leaning against her. "Hang on a minute," she said, although I wasn't sure who to. She returned holding a cloth which she wiped his face with. It seemed to calm him a bit. "You have a very high temperature, little one," she told him. "Does your tummy hurt?"  
>He nodded shyly, fidgeting and starting to shiver a bit. He still didn't look up.<br>"It's okay, you're allowed to get sick," she assured him.  
>"…c-cold…" he whimpered.<br>"Okay, sweetie, we'll find you a blanket."  
>Tanya disappeared and came back with one.<br>I wrapped it around him and picked him up again.  
>He was an odd shade of pale and his skin was too hot for comfort. He lent his head against my shoulder, still shivering terribly. I took him and sat by the fire, trying to both simultaneously warm him up and cool him down. He had his arms wrapped tightly around his middle and was sort of hunched over in pain. I rubbed his back, not knowing what else to do.<br>Tanya came in holding the phone and a thermometer with a frown on her face. She crouched in front of us. "I need you to put this in your mouth, okay?" she asked him gently.  
>He hesitated before nodding slowly and letting her put it under his tongue. Once it beeped she removed it.<br>"105.2," she repeated into the phone. Not long after she let out a frustrated sigh. "We can't bloody well do that, Carlisle, they'll notice he's not normal."  
>"What are we doing?" I asked, concerned. I held him closer to me.<br>"He wants us to take him to the hospital," she told me.  
>"No," Garrett squeaked, reaching up to hold onto me.<br>"We can't go in there," she growled. "Can't we just wait until you-"  
>He cut her off but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Suddenly she handed the phone to me.<br>"What's going on?" I asked him.  
>"I don't know but please just take him to the hospital," he begged me. I could hear in his voice he was scared. "He's the same as any other human so it won't look unusual to them, but he needs to see a doctor and he can't wait the amount of time it takes me to get there and I'm not a paediatrician anyway so I'm kind of out of my depth."<br>"Carlisle…if there's blood I'll end up killing someone," I admitted quietly.  
>"Well it's either their life or Garrett's- please just take him; it's dangerous for little kids to have a temperature that high even if they're not throwing up and if he gets dehydrated then…" he trailed off.<br>"Can you come please?" I asked quietly.  
>"You have to take him to hospital," he pleaded.<br>"I know, I will," I ignored the sobs of protest from Garrett. "But if they admit him I can't stay there long and I don't think anyone in this coven-"  
>"Okay," he interrupted. He sounded incredibly relieved.<br>"Thank you- come here, sweetheart, you'll be alright, they won't hurt you," I tried to calm down the toddler who had worked himself up so much I was going to be surprised if he wasn't sick again.  
>Tanya took the phone away again so I could help him.<br>"Honey I'm going to take you to see some strange people, but they're not going to hurt you, okay?" I told him. He shakily wiped his face but couldn't stop the tears. "I know you don't want to go but I love you and I can't let anything happen to you so we have to do what Carlisle says."


End file.
